Healthy, tasty, low in calories
Botanically, the tomato belongs to the nightshade family and is thus related to the potato, but also to poisonous plants such as deadly nightshade and thorn apple. The green parts of the tomato plant, i.e. the stems, leaves and unripe fruit, contain a substance that is poisonous in high doses: solanine. To be fatally poisoned, a person would have to consume up to 3 kg of raw, unripe tomatoes (which corresponds to a dose of approximately 400 mg). As the tomato ripens, this toxin breaks down and the substances lycopene and carotene are formed. In the human body, lycopene is said to have protective functions through its antioxidant effect, such as inhibiting the development of certain types of cancer (including prostate cancer) and preventing cardiovascular disease. The fact that tomatoes are also pleasingly low in calories and contain important vitamins such as A, B1, C, E and niacin are merely pleasant side effects in comparison.
Growing is easier than you think
Fortunately, growing your own tomatoes is quite easy; they're more robust than you might think. The minimum requirements are light, air, and no waterlogging. Tomatoes thrive in pots, planted against a house wall or on a balcony. It's important to keep the foliage as dry as possible to prevent fungal infections of the leaves and stems. It's also important to regularly pinch off the plants, removing any unnecessary shoots from the leaf axils. If you want to plant tomatoes, you can buy pre-grown plants at the market, or you can buy seeds and grow your own according to your personal preferences—in terms of taste and color. The selection is vast, as there are said to be over 2,500 different tomato varieties.
To good neighbors
Tomato plants make good neighbors for other vegetables in the garden. Carrots, radishes, turnips, and celery thrive in their proximity. So do lettuce, spinach, leeks, asparagus, and all types of cabbage, perhaps because the herb's scent repels pests such as flea beetles, carrot flies, and cabbage flies. Only potatoes, beets, fennel, and peas dislike tomato neighbors.
We Germans consume 19.5 kg of tomatoes annually—more than any other vegetable! Other record-breaking figures: the heaviest tomato weighed 3.5 kg, as already mentioned, the tallest plant was 19.8 meters tall, and the most productive tomato plant bore 32,000 fruits.
TEXT: Birge Holtmann
